New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 199,644 Shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 82.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,450 shares of the company’s stock after selling 199,644 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Unilever were worth $2,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 155.2% in the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 5,117 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth $11,694,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unilever by 236.2% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 30,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 21,441 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the 3rd quarter worth $1,388,000. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its position in Unilever by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 115,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,574,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UL shares. StockNews.com lowered Unilever from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Unilever from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. DZ Bank raised Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.33.

Unilever Price Performance

Shares of Unilever stock opened at $56.61 on Friday. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.46 and a 1 year high of $65.87. The firm has a market cap of $140.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $56.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.93.

Unilever Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.4674 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Unilever’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.01%.

About Unilever

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.